Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

About the BookFrom the acclaimed author/illustrator team behind The Snatchabook comes a book-filled adventure on the high seas!

Nell is finally a pirate! And she has her trusty Pirate’s Almanac to help her sail the seas, even if Captain Gnash doesn’t like books on his ship. But when the journey gets rough and the captain is in trouble, it’s Nell and all her pirate knowledge that saves the day and leads them to the greatest buried treasure of all…

Meet the Author and IllustratorHELEN DOCHERTY is an award-winning children’s author. She also worked for many years as a French and Spanish teacher, and loves learning new languages.

THOMAS DOCHERTY studied metalwork and sculpture at college in England before becoming an illustrator of children’s books. Helen and Thomas collaborated on the #1 Indie Next Pick, The Snatchabook. They live in Wales with their two daughters.

Praise for Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell“Some challenging vocabulary serves to enhance children’s

understanding of new words, and the overall message places books and reading in a position of great importance...[A] perfect addition to school and library curricula for elementary school–aged readers.”

—School Library Journal“Secure the mainsail and set a course for a howling good adventure”

—Kirkus Reviews“Overall, a charming high-seas adventure that ties in reading and the power of following your dreams, PIRATE NELL’S TALE TO

TELL is sure to delight young readers.” —Olivia Farr, YA and Kids Books Central

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Design your own pirate ship! Nell transforms the pirate ship into a floating library at the end of the story.

What else could you use the space for? A café? A soft play area? Something else? Fill all the rooms below deck to create your own pirate ship, library, or whatever

you choose! If you like, add Pirate Nell and Captain Gnash to your ship.

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Can you follow the map and find the treasure?

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Plot the course of Nell’s journey by putting the images from the book in the right order. Then retell

Nell’s story using your own words.

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Draw yourself as a pirate dog!Things to consider:

What kind of dog would you be? Short / long haired? Pointy ears / long ears? Would you have spots? A bushy tail?

What sort of clothes would you wear? Would you have stripes? A hat (what kind)? An eye-patch? A bone leg (like Captain Gnash)?

Have a good look at the characters in the book for inspiration!When you’ve finished, why not give yourself a pirate name?

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Create your own treasure map! Using the map in the book for inspiration, draw your own map.

What shape will your island be?Remember to include a compass rose (with North, East, South and West), different creatures in the sea and features on the island itself, e.g. trees, a river, a mountain or volcano and X marks the spot! When you’ve finished, colour in all the features. You can make your map look old by staining it

with cold tea or coffee (applied with a sponge or thick brush).

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Create a pirate library foryour class / school!

Decorate a large box or container to make it look like a floating library. You can add port holes, waves, masts, a

sail, a figurehead (like the one in the book) and anything else you like. When you have finished, fill it with books

(including a copy of Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell, of course!).

Activity KitPirate Nell’s Tale to Tell

Storytime Discussion Questions1. How does Nell imagine her life on board the pirate ship will be like, and what is it like in reality

(before she finds the map)? Why is it so different from how she’d imagined it? Have you ever found an

experience to be very different from what you’d expected, and why was that? Was it better, or worse?

2. How do you think Nell feels…

a) when Captain Gnash snatches her map away?

b) when Captain Gnash ignores her warning about the storm?

3. Nell dives in to rescue Captain Gnash when he falls into the sea. Would you have done the same?

Why / why not? What does this decision tell us about Nell’s character? Did she do the right thing, in

your opinion?

4. Captain Gnash goes on an emotional journey of his own in the story. Can you describe his character

and behaviour at the beginning of the story? What happens to make him change? Discuss his

reactions and the different emotions he experiences at key moments in the story:

a) when he discovers Nell with the map

b) when he falls overboard

c) after he is rescued

d) when the pirates dig up the treasure

5. At the end of the story, Nell transforms the pirate ship into a floating library. Have a good look at

the illustration. Would you like to visit this library? What do you like about it? Do you ever visit

your local library? If not, would you like to? As a class, find out where your nearest library is and, if

possible, plan a class visit to the library. You could even dress up as pirates!